On 19 December 2025, the Regional Deparment of Environment, Agriculture and Interior of the Community of Madrid published the decision on the 2025 call for cooperation grants for Operational Groups of the European Innovation Partnership for Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability (EIP-AGRI) in the Community of Madrid, co-financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and by the General State Administration, issued under Order 1945/2024 of 3 June. This decision awarded funding to the Innovative Project “SAGEMA Operational Group: USE OF METAGENOMICS THROUGH NON-INVASIVE SAMPLING TO IMPROVE ANIMAL HEALTH STATUS, ANIMAL WELFARE AND SUSTAINABILITY IN EXTENSIVE NATIVE CATTLE FARMING IN THE COMMUNITY OF MADRID”. The funding for these grants will be provided 80% by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), 2% by the General State Administration, and 18% by the Community of Madrid. The grant awarded amounts to €222,967.48. Responsibility for the content of this Innovative Project lies with the beneficiary partners of the SAGEMA Operational Group.

The consortium is led by the Royal Spanish Association of Breeders of Selected Avileña-Negra Ibérica Cattle (RAEANI). The beneficiary members include the Association of Breeders of Berrenda en Colorado and Berrenda en Negro Cattle of the Community of Madrid (ABEMA), the Madrid Institute for Rural, Agricultural and Food Research and Development (IMIDRA), the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM-VISAVET), and the company Maeva Servet, S.L. In addition, the private research centre IMASDE Agroalimentaria, S.L. will be subcontracted as project coordinator.

The objective of the SAGEMA Operational Group is to apply metagenomics using non-invasive samples to improve animal health status, animal welfare and sustainability in extensive native cattle farming in the region of Madrid. To this end, the project aims to develop next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based diagnostic techniques for microbiome analysis in extensive cattle systems and to identify emerging pathogens. The use of non-invasive techniques will enhance animal welfare, as well as improve health status and productivity, and increase the sustainability of livestock farms by enabling early detection of emerging pathogens. This will help reduce the adverse effects of the diseases under study, such as loss of productivity, reproductive problems, and the inability to market animals, among others.

SAGEMA poster